Articles by this Author

Before Romeo and Juliet, there was another pair of star-crossed lovers whose affair ended in tragedy but whose love story has been immortalised in literature and art. Inês de Castro was a 14th-century Castilian lady in waiting at the Portuguese court when she and Dom Pedro, the heir to the Portuguese throne, fell deeply in love. Their affair threatened to destabilise relations between Castile and Portugal, so King Afonso arranged to have her assassinated. When Dom Pedro became King, he disclosed that he and Inês had been secretly married and that she was his rightful Queen. Legend tells that he had her remains exhumed, seated on the throne, and crowned. Whether this legend is grounded in reality or not, Inês was reburied at the Monastery of Alcobaça, where she and King Pedro lie facing each other in matching tombs.